Since the "Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969" was passed by Congress, stringent requirements have been placed upon coal mine operators to insure the safety of miners working in the coal mines. Such requirements include a number of standards which must be met before a mine may be operated, and also include a number of requirements to insure the safety of those working in the mine.
One such requirement is that a mine examiner must inspect the mine within three hours immediately preceeding the beginning of any shift and before any miner in that shift enters the active working area of the coal mine. The mine examiner must examine every working section and make tests in each working section to determine accumulations of methane, quantity of air passing through the mine, and other safety related inspections. The mine examiner is required to place his initials and the date and time of the inspection at all places which he examines. Further, if the examiner finds a condition which constitutes a violation of the required health or safety standards which would be hazardous to persons entering the mine, he is required to post a "danger" sign which is conspicuously visible to persons entering the hazardous places in the mine.
As a result of such requirements, in the past mine examiners have made the required record of inspection by using a piece of chalk and writing the date, time, and his initials on various portions of the mine such as the mine walls, mine roof supports, roof bolts, cross bars, paperbags, equipment, roof, etc. This of course complies with the requirements of the Act, but is a rather undersirable manner of compliance both for the inspectors and the mine workers as well. In time, the walls, equipment, supports, and the like may become cluttered with such recordings or alternatively the chalk must be wiped off a rather dirty surface.
The danger sign which must be posted also can create problems since it must be of course readily visible and not capable of being easily erased such as by someone brushing against a chalk writing.
However, this manner of compliance with the Act has continued as it does at least minimally meet the requirements of the Act.
The present invention, on the other hand, provides a far more acceptable indication of the results of an inspection and simultaneously maintains a printed record of the inspection in addition to the visible indication of the inspection. The device may be posted throughout the mine in the required areas, and additionally incorporates a danger or warning sign to readily alert the mine workers to the presence of a dangerous condition.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art inspection records.
Another object of the invention is to provide a changeable indication of each inspection which complies with the requirements of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a device for giving a visible indication of the results of an inspection and simultaneously making a permanent record thereof.